


What You Gave To Me

by orphan_account



Category: Dancing with the Stars (US) RPF, Valdaya
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-06
Updated: 2015-04-06
Packaged: 2018-03-21 13:05:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3693365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Zendaya, at the age of twenty-two, wins an Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, she chooses to go see Val instead of attending the after party.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What You Gave To Me

**Author's Note:**

> This is fiction, not reality.

> _“What makes her so good is not just her dancing ability, because she’s fantastic. It’s her being able to commit to every single dance’s character. She’s actually a very good actress_ first  _and then a dancer.”_
> 
> _\- Anna Trebunskaya, AfterBuzz Season 16 Week 5_
> 
> _“She’s already an amazing dancer. I mean, we all knew that from the beginning. She can dance. It’s not like she had to learn [that], but she has learned so much as far as like, technicality, and I think she has improved in her performance. I mean, she was already a superstar from the beginning, but just watching her each week, she gets better and better with that and that’s something she’ll use forever.”_
> 
> -  _Lindsay Arnold, AfterBuzz Season 16 Week 10_

The first thing that she did after she got through the interviews was check her phone.  Cradling the little golden man in one arm, she walked into the bathroom.  After checking to make sure none of the other stalls were occupied, she placed the award on the counter, lifted her skirt and unstrapped her phone from her upper thigh. She may have had to leave her purse at her seat, but she never let her phone leave her side.  It had been vibrating, nearly non-stop, for the last twenty minutes and she could not help the excitement as she swiped her finger across the screen and it lit up.  She had texts from Deja, Dom, and her parents, which she read quickly before writing replies.  Then she opened her Twitter feed, which was going absolutely insane.  Everyone from Kobe to Bella to Drake was sending her their best wishes, but her eyes searched out her family’s among them. 

> _@db_yumyum: I told you she was going to take the throne! Congratulations to my sister and best friend @Zendaya!_
> 
> _@MaksimC: CONGRATS TO MY SUPERSTAR BABY SISTER @Zendaya! SO PROUD OF YOU!_
> 
> _@SharnaBurgess: Just watched @Zendaya get the recognition that she rightfully deserves. Congratulations beautiful!_
> 
> _@tonydovolani: congratulations to the talented and beautiful @zendaya xoxo_
> 
> _@nicolevolynets: A huge congratulations to @Zendaya on her Oscar win! The first of many to come. Love you!! #superstar_
> 
> _@AlexSanderNYC: CONGRATS QUEEN Z! @Zendaya_

She quickly wrote out thank-yous, complete with kissy emojis, before she came across his.

> _@iamValC: Congratulations @Zendaya-chka! Totally deserved! #toldyouthestoryofmyscarwasthebestever #iloveyoubabygirl #tothemoonandback #soproudofyou_

She swallowed hard.  Nothing he had tweeted was something that he had never expressed before, but tears came to her eyes nonetheless.  She was always happy when she made her fans proud, or her parents proud, or herself proud, but making Val proud had always meant so much more to her.  Suddenly a text or tweet did not seem good enough.  She dialed his phone number in herself, as it was one of the few that she had memorized, before pressing send.  It only rang twice before he answered.

“Zendayachka?”

“Hi,” she answered quietly, trying to act normal.  She was alone in a private place, but she still did not want to take the chance of being overheard.  She did not need the press dissecting who her first phone call had been to. 

“Aren’t you still at the show?  Are you okay? Why are you –

“Yes, but I need to talk to you…can I come over after it’s over?”

“Babe, you know you don’t have to ask; you’re always welcome here.  But don’t you want to go to the after party?  Celebrate your big win?”

“I want to celebrate, but not here.”

“Okay,” he answered after a short pause.  “You sure you’re alright?”

“I’m fine, I just…I just need to talk to you.”

“I’ll unlock the door. You can come straight in when you get here.”

“Thank you.”

“Anytime, Babe.  You know that.”

“I do.  I’ll see you soon,” she said, ending the call.

She quickly returned her phone to its proper place before readjusting her skirt, grabbing her award, and going back to her seat.  In hushed tones, during the moments of applause, she told one of her cast mates that something had come up and she would not be going to the after party after all.

“That’s alright, it’s just a lot of schmoozing, drinking, and bragging anyway.  You’re not really missing anything.”  As she had been nominated before, she would know. 

After the final award was handed out, she said her goodbyes and left.  Because of the traffic, it took about a half hour to get to Val’s. 

“You can go, Steve,” she told her driver as he opened her door.  He was in his late sixties, his hair a dark grey and his face beginning to wrinkle.  “Maks is out of town, so I’ll probably just crash in his room.  And you know how Val is.  If I need to get anywhere, he’ll take me.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he answered.  He helped her from the car, making sure that her long skirt did not catch on her shoes or in the door, before he reached in and grabbed her Oscar.  He carefully handed it to her before stepping back.  She smiled at him. 

 “Thank you.  But what have I told you about that?  Just call me Zendaya or Daya or Z.”  He nodded his head, but she knew he would go back to addressing her as “ma’am” or “miss” tomorrow.  He was proper and pretty stuffy in character, but she loved him for it.  He had only been with her a few months, but he had definitely grown on her. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Steve.”  He looked uncomfortable at the idea of not walking her to the apartment door, but at her pointed look he got into the car and left.  She shook her head, affection for him rising.  He may be rather formal and dry, but he was also extremely protective. 

Turning towards the apartment complex, she lifted her skirt off of the pavement and walked towards the entryway.  It was a dark night, or as dark as any night can be in the middle of LA.  The streetlights lit up sections of pavement with pools of brightness, helping her to see where she was walking.  She was especially careful to watch her foot placement; the last thing she wanted was her heels getting caught in a crack and ending up in the bushes the lined the walkway. 

The doorman let her in as soon as he saw her, wishing her a good evening as she swept towards the elevators.  Once inside she pushed the number two and waited for the doors to re-open.  The humming of the machinery was peaceful when compared to the pounding of her heart.  She had tried not to think about what she was going to do once she got to the apartment, but the closer she got, the harder it was to ignore. 

She caught the eye of her reflection in the mirrored doors and smoothed her hands down the skirt of her long, strapless dress.  The deep blue brought out her skin tone, while the silver belt beneath her bust line accentuated her tiny waist.  A matching double-banded, beaded ribbon adorned her wavy brown hair, setting off her coordinating shimmery eye shadow, and charcoal eyeliner and mascara brought out her eyes even more than usual. 

She did not understand why her hands were shaking and why her pulse was so fast.  It was just Val.  But that was the problem in and of itself…it was  _Val_.  The man who stood by her through everything.  The man who believed in her more than anyone else.  The man who knew her better than she knew herself. 

The man who she loved. 

She had been trying to ignore her feelings for a long time, hiding them behind a seemingly platonic front.  It had taken winning her Oscar for her to understand that she had been wrong to hide her feelings.  She had stood in front of hundreds of people that admired and respected her in order to thank the Academy, as well as those who had loved and supported her.  Yet the one person who had done those things more than anyone, the person who had helped her grow into who she had become, had not been there to share it with her.  That realization had hurt and had been no one’s fault but her own. 

When the elevator pinged and its doors opened, she quickly made her way down the hall to the apartment.  Not bothering to knock, she turned the knob and walked inside. 

“Hello?” she called, closing the door. 

 “In the kitchen,” he answered.  She followed his voice, admiring the way his unique Russian-New Jerseyan accent lovingly caressed his words.  The apartment smelled like he was baking something, which instantly resulted in her stomach rumbling. 

“Hi,” she said, entering the kitchen.  He was bent over the counter, scooping the last few of his cookies onto a cooling rack, but he turned when he heard her approach.  He still held the spatula in his hand, but upon seeing her he froze, his eyes taking in her appearance.  She took the time to return the favor, noticing that he wore a gray t-shirt and dark wash jeans, his feet bare on the wood floor.  She did not know why she found that last detail so sexy.

“Look at you,” he breathed, still examining her.  His jaw clenched, his eyes meeting hers.  There was an emotion in them that she had seen before, often during rehearsals or in the small moments since then when they had specifically taken the time to see each other.  He blinked and cleared his throat, seeming to come out of his mesmerized state rather abruptly.  “I mean, I saw it on TV and online, but you look even better in person.” 

“Thank you.”  She tried to find some remnants of what he had been feeling, but it had disappeared as quickly as it had come.  “So why are you baking so late?” 

“I figured that you would be hungry and you never say no to some kind of chocolate.  Plus I don’t have ice cream, so I thought this would be the second best way to celebrate.”  She smiled at how well he knew her. 

There was a slight pause in the conversation before Val gestured towards the award she held, asking, “So…this is Oscar, huh?”

“Yup, this is him,” she said, handing it over.  He held it carefully, examining it as his smile widened.  The pride showed on his face when he looked back up at her, which reminded her…

“You’re probably wondering why I’m here…”

“It had crossed my mind.”  He tried to hand her Oscar back to her, but she waved him off.

“That’s why I came over…because you deserve to hold it as much as I apparently do.”  His forehead crinkled in confusion as he looked back down at the golden statue. 

“I got that because of you.”  That got his attention, his head snapping back up. 

“Zendayachka –

“I mean, obviously not completely.  There have been other factors in my life that have affected me personally and professionally, but what you taught me during our season…”  She paused, making sure that their gazes were connected.  “I apply that every day that I’m on set.  Work ethic, matching other people’s energy, perseverance, bringing a character to life…I’ve used that  _every single day_.  It’s what got me here, to where I’m at now, to  _who_ I am now.” 

He swallowed hard, his fingers still tightly clutching the Oscar.  That strange, nameless emotion twinkled from eyes as he listened to her. 

“When you said that I inspired you and gave you purpose…I thought it was nice and I kind of understood it then, but it didn’t really sink in until tonight.  You didn’t do anything special, in terms of what most people would think.  You were just _there…_ believing in me.” 

Zendaya looked down, her fingers starting to play with the material of her dress, twisting and then releasing.  Even after knowing Val for six years, it was difficult for her to completely let her walls down.  He was always the one who wore his heart on his sleeve, but he deserved the same from her, especially now. 

“You believed in me, if not right from the moment I walked through that studio door and met you, then at least from the end of our first rehearsal.  And you never stopped believing in me.  You were always pushing me to do better, because you knew that I could do anything that I set my mind to.  And because of that, after our season, I set my standards higher and continued pushing myself.  I called you when I heard about this role, told you how badly I wanted it but how afraid I was to audition.  And you believed that I could do it.  And it’s mostly because of that that I even went after it; if you hadn’t convinced me, I probably never would have even –

“You would have auditioned,” he interrupted, stepping closer.  He gently tipped her face up, cupping her cheek with one of his hands.  “Because your focus and drive is like no one else’s.  Because when you set your mind to something, nothing can stop you.  I didn’t make you like that, Baby, that was all you.  And so is this.”  He handed the award back to her.  “ _You_ deserve this because  _you’re_ the one that made this happen.”

A small smile spread across her lips.  “But you were there when I needed you.  You’re always there when I need you.”

“And I always will be.”  She waited for the “that’s what family does” that usually accompanied something like this, but it never came.  Instead he swallowed again before his eyes lowered to her lips. 

“Are we finally going to acknowledge this now?  This unspoken…connection that we’ve always had.” Zendaya whispered. 

“What do you mean?”

“The way you sometimes look at me like I’m anything but the little sister that you pretend I am.”  His gaze jumped up to meet hers, his mouth opening to form some sort of rebuttal, but she cut him off.  “The way that I’ve been doing the same for the last few years and you’ve never seemed to notice…never made a move.”

“I…I didn’t think you were ready.  I didn’t want to rush you into anything.  The last thing that I want is to do something wrong and ruin our friendship and –

Zendaya placed a finger on his lips, impeding the flow of his words.  “I appreciated that then; as much as I wanted it, I wasn’t ready.  But I am now.”  His mouth opened slightly, his eyes still locked on hers.  Apparently looking for some element of certainty, he seemed to be trying to look into her very soul. 

“Val,” she murmured.  “It’s okay.”  He slowly raised his hand and gently rested it against the side of her face.  She placed her hand over the top of his, linking their fingers before she leaned forward and kissed him.  Her breath caught.  She had been imagining what it would be like to kiss him for so long, yet actually being able to do it was so much better. 

It was relatively short, with Val pulling away slightly after a few seconds, his eyes searching hers.  Apparently finding what he needed, he pulled her closer and placed his lips back on hers.  What had started out as an innocent exploration quickly escalated as he brushed his tongue along her bottom lip and she let him in.  Zendaya wrapped her arms around his neck as one of his hands moved into her hair, running his fingers through the strands.  Encircling her back with his other arm, he closed the distance between their bodies.  She ran her hands down his back and started lifting the edge of his shirt, but Val pulled away, placing his forehead against hers. 

“We should slow down,” Val breathed.  She opened her mouth to tell him that they had been slow enough for the past six years, but he interrupted her.  “Babe, you don’t have to prove anything to me.”

“I know.  I  _want_ this, Val.  I want this with  _you._ ”

“I want this too, but –

“I love you.”  She said it without thinking about it, like someone would say that the sky was blue or the grass was green.  Her feelings for him had become as natural as breathing for her; they were a part of herself that had become more and more obvious as time passed and she was done hiding them.  They were the most honest part of herself; they were meant to be shared. 

His eyes widened as he pulled back a bit further from her.  He remained silent for a few seconds and she waited, her heart beating rapidly in her chest.  In that moment, with silence permeating the kitchen, that unknown emotion played across his face again and she was finally able to name it.  It was attraction.  It was affection.  It was hope. 

“I love you too, so goddamn much.”  Her smile lit up her face, tears shining from her eyes.  He had said the words before, in familial terms but never in this context, and hearing them now meant the world. 

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”  His eyes were clouded with emotion and he blinked rapidly, apparently trying to clear the tears from them before she noticed.  But oh, she noticed.  She ran her hands down his chest before she was once again met by the bottom of his t-shirt.  His hands caught hers before she could try to lift it over his head. 

“It’s not that I don’t want to,” he reassured.  “I just want you to be sure, Zendayachka.  I don’t want you to regret this.”

“I could never regret anything with you.” 

“If you want me to stop –

“I’ll let you know.”  He nodded before taking one of her hands, leading her out of the kitchen and towards his bedroom.  Once inside he closed the door, the only light in the room coming from the streetlight outside his curtained window.  He stared at her for a few seconds, trying to gauge whether or not she was nervous before kissing her again. 

He had gotten to know her body quite well during their season, as he had corrected certain aspects of her movement or helped set a certain picture that they, as a partnership, would attempt to achieve.  But that was different.  Her parents had been in the room and he had always tried to keep his touches brief when they were not completely alone.  He had held her hand, kissed her neck, and hugged her until there was no space between their bodies and these occurrences had only become more frequent as she grew older. 

But now his hands were not molding, they were exploring.  She returned the favor, running her fingers over all of the places she had always dreamt of.  When she tugged on the edge of his shirt again, he finally allowed her to remove it.  She had seen his naked chest before of course, on TV and in person, but this was different.  In those moments he was trying to portray himself in a certain way – the cool, sexy guy who was completely confident in his own skin.  He was building up a façade, one which the public was never really able to see underneath.  But in that moment, as she stripped away the piece of clothing and let it fall to the floor, she was also stripping away the walls he built to keep the majority of the outside world away.

He reached behind her and slowly unzipped the back of her dress.  She had never thought of that simple action as being sexy, but when his hands slowly slid in between the material and her now-exposed back it was.  His palms grazed her skin, just for the sake of touching her, and ignited a fire within her.  She reached down and unbuttoned his jeans; he unzipped them and let her help him slide them down over his hips before stepping out of them.  Wearing nothing but boxer briefs, he was without a doubt the best looking man she had ever seen. 

He took a deep breath, trying to steady himself, before slowly peeling the dress off of her body.  The material fluttered as it fell, joining his jeans on the floor.  She stood before him in nothing but a bra and panties and, for the first time that night, she felt hesitant.  She had messed around a few times, but had never gone all the way before.  Val’s history with other women had never really bothered her, but now she was afraid of disappointing him.  She always tried not to let her insecurities get the best of her, but she knew that she was not as curvy as other women nor as experienced. 

“What is it?” he asked. 

“I don’t want to disappoint you.”

“Baby, you could never  _ever_ disappoint me.”  She nodded, but must have looked unconvinced because he continued, “You have something that no one else has ever had.”  He reached for her hand and laid it flat against his chest.   _My heart._ He did not say it; it probably would have been too sappy for him, but it came across loud and clear.   

Seeing that she understood, he knelt down in front of her and kissed her bare stomach.  Her muscles contracted, jumping at the contact.  He smoothed his palms across her skin before his eyes sought out hers.  The emotion in them, the longing and adoration, was apparent and she felt a lump form in her throat.  She reached out, gently placing a hand against the side of his face.  He leaned into it, seeking out the physical connection before wrapping his arms around her hips and hugging her.  She threaded her fingers through his curls, pulling his head closer to her stomach.  He trembled against her, the build-up of attraction and affection overwhelming him.  He was losing control, something he seldom did, and it scared him a bit that she was easily able to reduce him to nothing but his purest, most honest self.  He could not hide anything from her; she could read him too well. 

“Zendayachka _,_ ” he whispered against her skin.  “I love you so much.”

“I love you too.” 

She ran her fingers through his hair, trying to calm him down.  He tilted his head up, making her hands slip from his curls and caress his face as he looked up at her.  He reached up and took her hands in his, bringing them to his lips and kissing them tenderly.  The way he looked at her made her feel like she was the most beautiful woman in the world, like she was his everything.  And when he stood, picked her up in his arms and carried her to the bed, gently placing her on the sheets before laying his body over the top of her, she knew that that was only the beginning. 

* * *

Afterwards, they laid in each other’s arms, their legs intertwined.  Zendaya rested her head on his shoulder and sighed, snuggling closer to him. 

“Talk about a celebration,” she said, laughing.  He chuckled, reaching down and plucking one of her hands from his chest.  His skin lightly brushed hers as he played with her fingers.  Zendaya closed her eyes as she let the sensations flow over her.  She was so at peace.  Whenever she was around Val, she always felt complete in some unexplainable way but this seemed different.  She had never felt more content in her life. 

She felt him shake his head and she tilted her face up to see him better.

“What?”

“When I met you, I already knew what I wanted in a woman and I was not going to settle for anything less.  But I definitely didn’t see you coming.”  She smiled, knowing that she too had not anticipated just how much they would come to mean to each other.  She did not expect him to continue, but he did. 

“You think that I gave you the tools to be successful, but you gave me so much more.  You gave me back a part of myself that I thought I had lost and, through that, I found myself again.”  His arms, which were wrapped around her, squeezed her tightly.  “And I am grateful every single day that I found you…and I will be grateful for the rest of my life.”


End file.
